Stunning Pics: Soldiers of the Gaza Conflict

Israeli soldiers clean the barrel of a tank at a staging area near the border with central Gaza November 20, 2012. The U.N. chief called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to the region with a message that escalation of the week-long conflict was in nobody's interest.

Israeli soldiers inspect a belt of bullets of the machine gun of a tank at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border for a potential ground operation in the Palestinian coastal enclave on November 20, 2012. Senior Israeli ministers decided overnight to hold off from launching a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip to give Egyptian-led truce efforts a chance to work, a senior Israeli official said.

Israeli soldiers stand atop a tank at a staging area near the border with central Gaza November 20, 2012. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, saying an Israeli ground operation in the Palestinian enclave would be a "dangerous escalation" that must be avoided.

Israeli soldiers pray at a staging area near the border with central Gaza November 20, 2012. The U.N. chief called for. an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to the region with a message that escalation of the week-long conflict was in nobody's interest.

Israeli soldiers prepare tanks at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border for a potential ground operation in the Palestinian coastal enclave on November 20, 2012. Senior Israeli ministers decided overnight to hold off from launching a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip to give Egyptian-led truce efforts a chance to work, a senior Israeli official said.

Israeli soldiers walk past an armoured personnel carrier (APC) outside the northern Gaza Strip November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave.

Israeli reserve soldiers pray at a staging area near the border with northern Gaza November 20, 2012. International pressure for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip puts Egypt's new Islamist president in the spotlight on Tuesday after a sixth day of Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli air strikes that have killed more than 100 people.

ISRAEL/GAZA BORDER - ISRAEL - NOVEMBER 20: Israeli soldiers sleep next to their artillery guns as the conflict between Palestine and Gaza enters its seventh day on November 20, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. Hamas militants and Israel are continuing talks aimed at a ceasefire as the death toll in Gaza reaches more than 100 and also three Israelis killed by rockets fired by Palestinian militants.

Israeli soldiers conduct morning prayers at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border as they prepare for a potential ground operation in the Palestinian coastal enclave on November 20, 2012. Senior Israeli ministers decided overnight to hold off from launching a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip to give Egyptian-led truce efforts a chance to work, a senior Israeli official said.

Israeli troops cheer as a Hasidic Jewish man, from the Breslov sect, dances during a visit to support the soldiers, near the border with the Gaza Strip November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave.

ISRAEL/GAZA BORDER - ISRAEL - NOVEMBER 20: Israeli soldiers pray at dawn as the conflict between Palestine and Gaza enters its seventh day on November 20, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. Hamas militants and Israel are continuing talks aimed at a ceasefire as the death toll in Gaza reaches more than 100 and also three Israelis killed by rockets fired by Palestinian militants.

Hasidic Jewish men, from the Breslov sect, dance with Israeli troops during a visit to support the soldiers, near the border with the Gaza Strip November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave.

Israeli soldiers clean their weapons at a staging area near the Israel Gaza Strip Border, southern Israel, early Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging Israeli forces and Gaza militants to hold their fire, warning that a further escalation of the seven-day-old conflict would endanger the entire region.

A soldier holds an Israeli flag as he dances with Hasidic Jewish men, from the Breslov sect, during a visit to support the soldiers, near the border with the Gaza Strip November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave.

Israeli soldiers prepare near armoured military vehicles at a staging area outside the northern Gaza Strip November 20, 2012. The U.N. chief called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to the region with a message that escalation of the week-long conflict was in nobody's interest.

Israeli soldiers stand near the damaged door of a mosque in the West Bank village of Orif, near Nablus November 19, 2012. Vandals set fire to the entrance of the West Bank mosque on Monday, damaging the door, in an attack that villagers blamed on Jewish settlers. The Israeli army said it was called to the scene and is investigating the incident.

Israeli soldiers gather for a briefing next to tanks and armoured vehicles at a staging area near the Israel Gaza Strip Border, southern Israel, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. On Tuesday, grieving Gazans were burying militants and civilians killed in ongoing Israeli airstrikes, and barrages of rockets from Gaza sent terrified Israelis scurrying to take cover. Efforts to end a week-old convulsion of Israeli-Palestinian violence drew in the world's top diplomats Tuesday, with U.S. President Barack Obama dispatching his secretary of state to the region on an emergency mission and the U.N. chief appealing from Cairo for an immediate cease-fire.

Israeli soldiers clean their weapons at a staging area near the Israel Gaza Strip Border, southern Israel, early Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging Israeli forces and Gaza militants to hold their fire, warning that a further escalation of the seven-day-old conflict would endanger the entire region.

Israeli soldiers gather at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border as they prepare for a potential ground operation in the Palestinian coastal enclave on November 20, 2012. Senior Israeli ministers decided overnight to hold off from launching a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip to give Egyptian-led truce efforts a chance to work, a senior Israeli official said.

ISRAEL/GAZA BORDER - ISRAEL - NOVEMBER 20: Israeli soldiers pray at dawn as the conflict between Palestine and Gaza enters its seventh day on November 20, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. Hamas militants and Israel are continuing talks aimed at a ceasefire as the death toll in Gaza reaches more than 100 and also three Israelis killed by rockets fired by Palestinian militants.